Friday, September 30, 2011

On 30 September 1944 MAE WEST, who was playing the Empress of Russia, moved her show "Catherine Was Great" from the Shubert Theatre to the Royale, the playhouse that had originally welcomed Diamond Lil and her boisterous Bowery hijinx in 1928.• • On Friday 30 September 2011 • •• • Shipboard entertainer Bonnie Kilroe brings her impressions of Mae West to a stage on dry land tonight in Canada. Impersonating fourteen frisky female icons, and trying to keep pace with her 45-second costume changes, has become second nature to the vivacious actress. "I really enjoy connecting with people in the audience, and I tend to go out and meet folks wigged and costumed as Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Tina Turner, Cher, Sarah Palin, Lady Gaga, etc.," says Bonnie about her show "Divas: Vaudeville meets Vegas" at 8:00 PM, Chilliwack Cultural Centre, Chilliwack, BC, Canada; T. 604-391-7469.• • On 30 September 1911 • •• • Variety noted on September 30th: "Folies Bergere Experiment Reaching an End"• • "A La Broadway" had opened at the very expensive and none-too-practical Folies-Bergere Theatre, New York, NY. This short-lived revue, which gave Mae West a chance to been seen on a Broadway stage, closed on 30 September 1911.• • On 30 September 1927 • •• • Taking advantage of the legal woes of his sister-in-law Mae West, Beverly's first Russian husband Sergei Treshatny went to court to obtain a divorce on 15 April 1927 after a decade of marriage. Their divorce became final on 30 September 1927.• • The union between the unhappy couple was dissolved by Supreme Court Justice George H. Taylor, Jr. in Newburgh, New York. The divorce action was based on a police raid on a room in the Arcade Hotel (Bridgeport) at 5:00 AM when Beverly West and Edward Elsner were charged with a "breach of the peace" [i.e., being drunk].• • The arrest at the Arcade Hotel — — 1001 Main St, Bridgeport, CT 06604 — — is dramatized in the stage play "Courting Mae West." This scene can be viewed on YouTube.com.• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this: "An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises."• • Quote, Unquote • •• • An article in The World mentioned Mae West.• • Reporter Gail Elber writes: With his sense of humor, "he was the Mae West of the labor movement," said Ian Ruskin. "He would take something and turn it on its head." Since 2001, Ian Ruskin has played the part of Harry Bridges more than 200 times in a one-man play called "From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks: The Life and Times of Harry Bridges." . . .• • Source: Article: "Labor’s lost love" written by Gail Elber for The World (Oregon); posted on 29 September 2011• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2069th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1944 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

In "Klondike Annie" [1936] MAE WEST plays Rose Carlton, the kept woman of Chan Lo (Harold Huber), who takes her from walking the streets to pacing the floors of her high rent gilded cage. • • Born in the Bronx, New York on 5 December 1904 to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents as Harold Joseph Huberman, the ambitious young man attended New York University in 1925 at the age of 16, where he was both a member of the university debate team and editor of the university's school magazine. Continuing his education in Manhattan at Columbia University, Harold intended to become an attorney. However, after finding paid employment as an actor one year after the worrisome stock market crash (in 1930), he changed his focus and went to Hollywood.• • Casting agents took a shine to this versatile performer with an adaptable visage and used him for ethnic characters who were Italian, Hispanic, or Asian as well as gangsters, thugs, convicts, or detectives. After he was featured as Chan Lo opposite Mae West in 1936, Huber played General Ho-Fang in "Outlaws of the Orient" [1937] and appeared in two Charlie Chan motion pictures the same year.• • From 1931 — 1959, the bit parts player was seen in 102 projects on TV or the silver screen.• • Harold Huber died during surgery at Jewish Memorial Hospital in the month of September — — on 29 September 1959. He was only 54 years old. His wife Ethel and his daughter Margaret buried him at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Queens, NY.• • On 29 September 1914 • •• • The newspaper the Philadelphia North American reviewed the more prominent variety artists who were performing onstage in the City of Brotherly Love on 29 September 1914. The arts critic thought well of Mae, who was then calling herself "The Original Brinkley Girl." When he referred to her stage act, he called her a "nut comedienne."• • On 29 September 1933 • •• • It was on 29 September 1933 that Mae West signed the Release Dialogue Script form for her very successful motion picture project "I'm No Angel" for Paramount Pictures. Mae West was paid for the film's treatment, story, and screenplay. In 1933, after altering several songs, the film was approved by the Association of Motion Picture Producers although it was later subject to the censors' scrutiny. "I'm No Angel" became one of the highest grossing films in 1933, earning $2,250,000 domestically. Julien's Auctions sold this autographed Release to a fan for $128.00.• • On 29 September 1936 • •• • "Pleasure Man" written by Mae West had its gala opening night on Broadway 1 October 1928 padlocked by the police. Alan Brooks who portrayed Rodney Terrill died at the end of September — — on 29 September 1936 — — in Saranac Lake, NY, at the age of 48. Did the stressful 1930s obscenity trial contribute to his early demise?• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this: "Don't cry for a man who's left you — — the next one may fall for your smile.”• • Quote, Unquote • •• • An article in The Register [U.K.] began with three quotes by Mae West.• • Kelly Fiveash writes: A story in which any number of Mae West quotations can be applied: "I speak two languages, Body and English Google." Or "Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly." Or "Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before."• • Kelly Fiveash continues: Larry Page is on a mission to keep Google in the fast lane when it comes to growing the already ubiquitous business online. The company's second-time-around CEO since April 2011 was speaking with Google chairman and previous chief Eric Schmidt at the firm's Zeitgest confab yesterday. ...• • Source: Article: "Larry Page sees 'tragic' future for Google" written by Kelly Fiveash for The Register [U.K.]; posted on 28 September 2011• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2068th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Harold Huber, 1936 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

One actor worked with Texas Guinan and also in two motion pictures starring MAE WEST.• • Born in Dobbs Ferry, New York on 16 June 1888, William B. Davidson launched his cinema career playing handsome leading men in silent films with Vitagraph in 1914 when he was 26.• • Among his credits is "Queen of the Night Clubs" [1929]; in his role as the Assistant District Attorney he was soundly lectured by the night club czarina Texas Guinan.• • Nearly six-foot-two and with a strapping build, he was quite memorable as Ernest Brown in "I'm No Angel" [1933], also billed as the sap.• • Regularly cast as a man of authority in character roles, Davidson portrayed the sheriff in "My Little Chickadee," which co-starred Mae West and W.C. Fields.• • William B. Davidson died in Santa Monica, California during the month of September — — on 28 September 1947 — — after surgery. He was 59 years old.• • On 28 September 1974 • •• • The colorful Mae West room in Dalí Theatre and Museum opened on 28 September 1974. The Mae West Lips Sofa made its first appearance in 1937.• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this: "Give a man a free hand and he'll run it all over you."• • Quote, Unquote • •• • An article in The Guardian mentioned a visit to Mae West in Hollywood.• • "There's nothing better in life than diamonds . . ."• • Charlotte Chandler wrote about her interview with Mae West in Ravenswood Apts, Los Angeles, California, for London's newspaper The Guardian.• • Charlotte Chandler told it like this: Mae West held out her hand to me. As I took it, I scratched my palm on one of her diamond rings. All of her fingers were covered with diamonds. These, she explained, were just her "daytime diamonds." Holding out her hands, she said, "They're all real. They were given to me by admirers." Her gaze settled on my unadorned hands. "Oh, you poor kid! You don't have any!" For a moment she regarded me with pity. Then she brightened. "But you have some at home?" I shook my head. She studied me, then said encouragingly, "You could, honey. But you've gotta try, and you've gotta know how to try. Knowing what you want is the first step toward getting it. There's nothing better in life than diamonds."• • Charlotte Chandler continued: Mae West had been giving no interviews at all. She already knew all the people she wanted to know, especially in light of the hours she felt compelled to spend on hair, makeup and dress before she could see anyone. ...• • Source: Article: "Mae West" written by Charlotte Chandler for The Guardian [U.K.]; posted on Friday, 21 September 2007• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2067th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with William B. Davidson, 1933 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

MAE WEST and Texas Guinan first met Sister Aimee in 1927 at an illegal but posh speakeasy in midtown Manhattan. All three women had Irish heritage and each one loved to commandeer the spotlight. Between the two world wars, Aimee Semple McPherson made herself into the most controversial and flamboyant minister in the United States.• • Born in Ontario, Canada on 9 October 1890, Aimee Semple McPherson, also known as "Sister Aimee" or simply "Sister," was an evangelist and a media sensation in the 1920s and 1930s; she was also the founder of the Foursquare Church. • • McPherson had started out as a Salvation Army worker. [One year later, Mae West would be featuring a Salvation Army worker Captain Cummings in her 1890s Bowery play "Diamond Lil" [Broadway debut April 1928]. Diamond Lil discovers that this handsome man is really "the Hawk" and doing detective work undercover. In the film "She Done Him Wrong," Captain Cummings is played by Cary Grant.]• • Aimee McPherson spent four years [1918 –– 1922] as an itinerant Pentecostal preacher, finally settling with her mother in Los Angeles, California, and founding the Foursquare Gospel Church. She supervised construction of a large, domed ecclesiastical building in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles, and it was completed in June 1923. Named Angelus Temple, it had a seating capacity of over 5,000.• • When Aimee Semple McPherson, the famous Evangelist (with the marcel-waved hair) from Los Angeles visited New York on 19 February 1927, she insisted on visiting Texas Guinan's club. Mae West was there to meet Aimee, too.• • As Texas Guinan prepared to welcome McPherson, she surely realized this was an exceptional promotional opportunity.• • By mid-February 1927, Mae had already been arrested. No doubt she was paying attention to all the stagecraft and image-building at work as Aimee kept her name in the headlines.• • Eight years later, Mae West would be playing an evangelist in Nome, Alaska in her film "Klondike Annie" — — a motion picture released in February 1936 after a lengthy hold-up by the censors who refused to let Mae West appear as a preacher or religious worker onscreen.• • It was in Oakland, California that Aimee Semple McPherson was found dead of an overdose of prescription barbiturates in September — — on 27 September 1944. Was it a suicide or an accident? She was only 53 years old.• • Although it would be nice to have had an illustration of Mae West and Texas Guinan socializing with Sister Aimee in 1927, at least we have this amusing extremely-unlikely-to-have-happened sketch by Miguel Covarrubias. • • In September, we remember Lloyd Nolan • •In 1937, Paramount Pictures spent a record one million dollars on its Mae West vehicle "Every Day's a Holiday" [released in the USA as holiday fare on 18 December 1937]. Actor Lloyd Nolan, age 35, was cast as John Quade.• • Born in San Francisco, California on 11 August 1902, Lloyd Benedict Nolan was a film, radio and television actor.• • On 27 September 1985, Lloyd Nolan died in Los Angeles of lung cancer. He was 83.• • Mae West and MoSex on 27 September 2002 • •• • The Museum of Sex was about to welcome its first visitors with a Mae West exhibition and British reporter Oliver Burkeman wrote a piece for London's newspaper, The Guardian.• • Oliver Burkeman explained: The country's first sex museum, which opens to the public on Saturday in an area of New York City once renowned for its brothels and licentious saloons, is being touted as "the Smithsonian of Sex". . . . The idea came to Dan Gluck, a 34-year-old former software entrepreneur, in "a casual conversation that turned serious. "I mean, it's not like as a child all I ever wanted to do was open a sex museum."• • Oliver Burkeman continued: Five years later MoSex opens with a historical exhibit called NYCSex: How New York City Transformed Sex in America. Visitors — — over-18s only — — are led through galleries bathed in pink light portraying everything from America's earliest legal condoms (made from sausage casings), past Mae West and early 20th-century gay lesbian pornography to puritanical crusaders against obscenity and the sexual revolution, before abruptly turning to a sombre exhibit on AIDS. It finishes with a computer installation where visitors can record their sexual experiences and fantasies — — and read those of others, although presumably somebody is going to have to go first. . . .• • Source: Article: "Manhattan sends sex to the museum — — New York opts for a scholarly approach to its bawdy history" written by Oliver Burkeman for The Guardian [UK]; published on Friday, 27 September 2002• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this: "I'd rather be looked over than overlooked."• • Quote, Unquote • •• • An article about the book "Holy Mackerel!," which discusses aspects of the Amos 'N' Andy story (by Bart Andrews and Ahrgus Julliard) has mentioned Mae West.• • Reporter Robert J. Booker writes: Nick Stewart, who played "Lightnin," the slow-moving janitor in the Mystic Knights of the Sea Lodge Hall on the show "Amos 'n' Andy," was born in New York City and had performed in more than 50 films before joining the show. He had also done Broadway shows as a song-and-dance man. Mae West caught one of his acts and asked him to be in one of her movies, "Go West Young Man" in 1936. He also appeared in three of my favorite black films, "Cabin in the Sky" (1943), "Stormy Weather" (1943) and "Carmen Jones" (1954).• • Robert J. Booker adds: One News Sentinel reader, Martin Gebrow, whose father was involved in theatrical productions, says he remembers seeing Stewart on stage in New York, where he often did a Stepin Fetchit-like routine with Vitrola. According to the "Holy Mackerel!" book, Stewart had been a chorus boy at Lincoln Theater and the Cotton Club and said, "Chorus boys were supposed to be handsome. I didn't fit those qualifications. So when they were picking choruses, they began to (exclude) me." ...• • Source: Article: "Actors enjoyed abundant careers" written by Robert J. Booker for Knox News; posted on 20 September 2011• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2066th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West's friend Texas Guinan • • 1927 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Born in the Bronx on 4 March 1933, gorgeous Richard DuBois caught the eye of MAE WEST in 1954. The 6-foot-one stunner — — who had just won his "Mr. America" title — — was hired to be the lead bodybuilder for "The Mae West Revue." • • Off the set, 21-year-old Dick DuBois and the 61-year-old Brooklyn bombshell enjoyed a steamy relationship. (When DuBois left the show, Mickey "Mr. Universe" Hargitay took his place as the lead gladiator.)• • Though DuBois was in a few films, he eventually abandoned his show business pursuits to become an evangelist, his wife said. He spent the last 19 years preaching as pastor of Gospel Lighthouse in West Los Angeles.• • The striking native New Yorker Richard DuBois died in a Santa Monica hospital in the month of September — — on Wednesday, 26 September 2007 — — at Saint John's Health Center, his wife Marcy said. He was 74 years old.• • In September, we remember George Raft • •• • Mae West told a reporter that she almost married George Raft [26 September 1895 — 24 November 1980], a native New Yorker and an actor most closely identified with his portrayals of gangsters in crime dramas of the 1930s — 1940s.• • When the studio was casting Raft's new feature "Night after Night," the role of Maudie Triplett, a former gal pal, was to be offered to a well regarded actress and night club personality: Texas Guinan. Raft suggested Mae West for this minor role, and Mae's three little scenes set the so-so film on fire. "Mae stole everything but the cameras," admitted George Raft.• • One of his final film appearances was in "Sextette" (1978) with Mae West. He played himself in a brief cameo that went like this:• • MAE WEST: "Why George Raft, I haven't seen you in 20 years. What have you been doing?"• • GEORGE RAFT: "Oh, about 20 years!"• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this: "Ten men waiting for me at the door? Send one of them home — — I'm tired."• • Quote, Unquote • •• • It seems that Mae West was mentioned in a recent stage review.• • Aubry D'Arminio writes: Joey Arias, with his Bettie Page haircut, dominatrix straps, and Thierry Mugler gowns, does the singing, which includes selections from Holiday, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and a hiccupy version of ''All By Myself'' that's part-Marilyn, part-Liza. (There also some original songs, by composer Alex Gifford.) Mae West, Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford, Charles Manson, Clark Gable, and Lassie also show up to pay tribute to Arias in an amusing newsreel interlude projected on the stage. ...• • Source: Stage Review "Arias with a Twist" reviewed by Aubry D'Arminio for Entertainment Weekly; posted on 21| September 2011.• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2065th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Richard DuBois, 1954 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

MAE WEST worked with an international cast in "Sextette." And her screen character Marlo Manners winds up in a honeymoon suite at a fancy hotel where there is an international conference in progress, led by the avuncular American diplomat Chambers — — Walter Pidgeon, in his last performance.• • Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada in the month of September — — on 23 September 1897 — — Walter Pidgeon played Mr. Chambers, the chairman in "Sextette" [1978].• • Dapper and tall [6' 2 1/2"], Walter Pidgeon in his youth had planned to follow his brothers into a military career, but was invalided out of the service after a training accident. Subsequently, Pigeon began his career as a voice student at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, which helped him land several roles in Broadway musicals. When his footsteps led to a silver screen career, he began in silents and transitioned to talkies. Despite his good looks, he was seldom seen as a leading man, though he had a long career in supporting roles. He was considered to be MGM's resident "perfect gentleman," though rebels and rogues were always more in vogue and often snagged top billing.• • Walter Pidgeon died of a stroke in Santa Monica, California in the month of September — — on 25 September 1984. He was 87 years old.• • Mae West Making News on 25 September • •• • This headline appeared in many places on 25 September 2000, thanks to UPI and AP: "Mae West memorabilia, jewelry, goes on the block." The sale would be held at Butterfields Auction House in Los Angeles. The memorabilia portion of Mae's belongings went before bidders on 24 October 2000.• • In Variety on 25 September 1934 • •• • This is a brief excerpt from the lengthy review that appeared in Variety on this date.• • Abel wrote: "Belle of the Nineties" is a little of everything. Even "St. Louis Blues" and "Memphis Blues" are in it — — she did "Frankie and Johnny" in "Diamond Lil."• • The original songs by Coslow and Johnston are "My Old Flame," "American Beauty," and "Troubled Waters." Duke Ellington's nifty jazzique is a natural for the Westian song delivery. "Waters" introduces a little of the Elder Michaux revival meeting. That's in the offing, but within seeming earshot, and thus she does a semi-spiritual against the heated colored revival meeting background which productionally is rather well worked in.• • Just like she makes stooges of almost anybody assigned to bandy talk with her, Miss West dittoes with her principal support, including Roger Pryor, the fave vis-a-vis, John Mack Brown as the good time Charlie, and John Miljan, a villain of darkest mien. Katherine DeMille as the spurned gambler's sweetheart looks better and suggests better opportunities than the prima facie script accords her. The publicity, the glamor, and the star appeal — — in these factors alone "Belle of the Nineties" underwrites itself. — — Abel.• • Source: Variety Magazine [originally published 25 September 1934]• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West wrote this line for Margy Lamont, her character in the play "Sex": "All right, rat, I'll give you the chance," Margy is telling her pimp. "Why, if I didn't have a certain amount of refinement, I'd kick your teeth all over this floor. Now blow, bum, blow."• • Quote, Unquote • •• • It seems that a Mae West quote wriggled its way into an article.• • From Down Under, crime author and TV host Tara Moss writes: As historian and curator Nerida Campbell writes in her book Femme Fatale: The Female Criminal: ''Pulp fiction artists created a picture of incredible glamour, beauty and wickedness. The women were frequently depicted carrying out their nefarious activities, often with a smoking gun in hand.'' A weapon in the hands of a striking woman is a powerful and sexually charged image — — the blade or the pistol as phallic symbol, the shooting bullet as metaphor for the obvious.• • Tara Moss continues: Mae West quipped, ''Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?'' The fact is, we are happy to see the femme fatale. Men are drawn to her because she is not only beautiful but also sexually voracious and available. The heartache afterwards is an afterthought. ...• • Source: Article: "Beauty obscures the beast" written by Tara Moss for the Brisbane Times; posted on 25 September 2011• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2064th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1978 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Playing a sultry, irresistible detective, MAE WEST took the starring role of clever Carliss Dale in the stage play "Come On Up (Ring Twice)," which toured during 1946 in California and elsewhere. This comedy was written by Miles Mander, Fred Schiller, and Thomas Dunphy.• • "Come on up to Suite B-3, Bellflower Apartments, and ask for Carliss" • •• • A drama critic offered his views to theatre-buffs on 24 September 1946. He wrote: While Miss West's current vehicle scorns to change the subject of last season's 'Catherine Was Great,' it does put it into a new and more congenial setting. This time the star sets up in an elegant Washington apartment, of all places, and she presides over it much more comfortably. As a buxom blonde . . . she always seemed out of place in the semi-oriental splendor of Catherine's palace boudoir. She and her current place have a classic unity, if 'classic' does not mind being borrowed for such an occasion. ...• • In September, we remember Warren William • •• • In one motion picture Warren William took the role of the meddlesome publicist of the demanding screen queen Mavis Arden, played by Mae West.• • Born on 2 December 1894 in Minnesota as Warren William Krech, the aspiring thesp attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and, like Mae, he appeared in several plays on Broadway during the 1920s. He was even seen opposite the engaging "Perils of Pauline" star Pearl White in her last serial photoplay, "Plunder" [1923].• • "The Perils of Mavis Arden" or rather "Go West Young Man" was a contemporary comedy based on a long-running Broadway hit "Personal Appearance," which starred Gladys George. Marshaling his willpower and armed with his patrician looks and polish, the tall, dark, and scheming Morgan was cast as a press agent who feels well-equipped to prevent a temperamental movie star from marrying while under studio contract. Morgan also stage manages behind the scenes to keep the man-hungry Mavis single and unavailable to men (not unlike Mae's real-life manager Jim Timony and stage mother Matilda West).• • Often cast as an amoral, aggressive, heartbreaking rogue without a conscience, when the cameras were not rolling the six-foot-one gentleman was a shy, retiring type who remained married to the same woman and worked on patented inventions in his spare time. Speaking of him, five-time Warner Brothers co-star Joan Blondell told an interviewer that Warren William "was an old man even when he was a young man."• • His busy career, aided by his deep, mellifluous, muscular speaking voice, was cut short by cancer of the bone marrow (multiple myeloma). Warren William died in Hollywood during the month of September — — on 24 September 1948. He was 53 years of age.• • On 24 September 1934 • •• • Battles between Joseph Breen and the producers of "Belle of the Nineties" were covered by numerous papers including the Boston Herald on 24 September 1934. By this time, Mae must have felt she needed to rim her bedroom doorway with fresh garlic to keep out the blood-thirsty night-crawlers and hounds of Tinseltown.• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this: "Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly."• • Quote, Unquote • •• • It seems that a Mae West scene wiggled its way into a live performance.• • "Take a Rest, Mae West" • •• • From Down Under, Ian Jones writes: It wouldn’t have been everyone’s cup of tea. In fact if they’d been allowed to take a cup of tea into the theatre, they may very well have spilled some of it. Especially if they found boobs, bums, and condoms confronting.• • Ian Jones continues: The Performing Arts “The Naked Canvas” — — a gallery of theatrical “paintings” — — drew a mixed response from theatre goers on Friday and Saturday night. It ranged from exuberant appreciation to “drink a quick six-pack before you go in.” But the one thing, without doubt, is that it had everyone talking.• • Ian Jones adds: One of the most talked about was a scene described by one attendee as “Macbeth’s witches meets Marat Sade as directed by Hugh Hefner.” Officially it was called “Take a rest, Mae West")! . . .• • Source: Review: "Bums, ‘boobs’ and condoms" written by Ian Jones for Goondiwindi Argus [Australia]; posted on 14 September 2011• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2063rd blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1946 poster • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Production on the motion picture "Myra Breckinridge" began in September — — on 23 September 1969 — — and MAE WEST received top billing. Her character became "Leticia" Van Allen after the movie queen objected to the spelling "Letitia." Production would be concluded the following year on 26 February 1970. Helming the cinema version of Gore Vidal's satirical novel (written in the form of a diary) was the hip and cool Brit director Michael Sarne. It says something about the reading habits and the peculiar taste of adults during 1968 who made this book a bestseller, does it not? No "Best Picture" nomination for "Myra" crowned Vidal's achievement.• • On 23 September 2011 • •• • El Segundo means "the second" — — as in second chance. If you are near El Segundo, California today, grab your second opportunity to enjoy Mae West in "Go West Young Man" at 140 Richmond Street this evening. The film repeats tomorrow.• • On 23 September 1933 • •• • The publisher and founder of Variety frequently aimed his spite and malice at Mae West. Let's take a moment to remember Sime Silverman [19 May 1873 — 23 September 1933] on the day his sharp-pointed pen was laid to rest.• • Mae West's High-Button Shoes on Thursday, 23 September 1999 • •• • Andy Warhol came to associate footwear with his heightened success. At the Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, Warhol exhibited an acclaimed series of drawings wherein each shoe was nicknamed for a celebrity — — Mae West, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Truman Capote, and James Dean. "By the end of the 1950s, the shoe was Warhol's most prominent personal claim to fame as well as his symbol for the sexiness, glamour, and magic of the stardom that he adored," stated the exhibition catalog. The opening reception was on Thursday, 23 September 1999. [Andy Warhol, Diamond Dust Shoes, on exhibit from 23 September 1999 — 30 October 1999 in NYC]• • Mae West on the Newsstand • •• • If you were paying attention to Photoplay Magazine in 1934, then you spotted the September issue with this bold cover-line: "The Man You Want: Mae West Gives You His Number."• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this: "The score never interested me — — only the game."• • Quote, Unquote • •• • It seems that a Mae West moment wiggled its stealthy way into a motion picture starring macho actor Charles Bronson in the role of Jack Murphy.• • Mae-maven Bill Landis spotted it. Mr. Landis said: "I was watching an old movie "Murphy's Law" [1986] with Charles Bronson on the Flix network on Sunday [28 August 2011] and much to my surprise when Bronson barged into an apartment there was a poster of Mae West in "Every Day's a Holiday" on the apartment wall!! It was only on the screen for less than a second. If you blinked, then probably you would have missed it. You never know, added Bill Landis, where our gal will show up! . . .• • Source: Personal Statement from Bill Landis, Mae-maven• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2062nd blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • as Leticia in 1970 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

On 22 September 1911, 18-year-old MAE WEST was in a wonderful place — — the spotlight. On that date, "A La Broadway" had opened at the Folies-Bergere Theatre, New York, NY. This short-lived revue closed on 30 September 1911.• • On 22 September 1934 • • • • In September 1934, Mae was involved in promoting her fourth feature for Paramount Pictures: "Belle of the Nineties." This motion picture was released on September 21st. The title of the movie review published in The New York Times on 22 September 1934 was "Mae West and Her Gaudy Retinue in 'Belle of the Nineties'." Here is the first sentence — — "Of course, Miss West is her own plot," wrote Times critic Andre Sennwald.• • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this about a shady character who tried to bribe his way into the Ravenswood with bling: "I told him I'd take the opals for my sister Beverly and pass on the diamonds, which were no good." Mae told a Hollywood reporter: "Just imagine, he thought he could con me with lousy stones!"• • Quote, Unquote • •• • Diamond Lil sporting rhinestones? How's that?• • An interesting insight about Mae West, and an inside peek into her jewelry box, came from her West Coast friend Kevin Thomas, a longtime film critic for The Los Angeles Times.• • Movie maven Kevin Thomas wrote on 22 September 2000: Mae West was the genuine article — — even if not all her diamonds were real. Such were my thoughts as Joe Gold and I, both longtime friends of Mae's, went over the jewelry and memorabilia that her longtime companion Charles Krauser had stored after her death in 1980 at 87. Krauser, who died last year at 76, and Gold, founder of Gold's and World gyms, were in Mae's fabled muscle man chorus line in her 1950s nightclub act.• • Kevin Thomas continued: "Goodness, what diamonds!," said a speak-easy hatcheck girl to Mae, who replied, "Goodness had nothing to do with it," sashaying into film history in an otherwise forgotten 1932 film, "Night After Night." Yet in her personal life, Mae didn't go in for much jewelry. "I have to go to the safe deposit box and get the stuff out, and that's a lot of trouble," she explained.• • Kevin Thomas added: An expert had already told Joe Gold the startling truth: The three major stones in a magnificent diamond necklace were fake. Diamond Lil sporting rhinestones? I shouldn't have been surprised. I spent a lot of time with Mae and Krauser, known professionally as Paul Novak, during the last dozen years of her life. I recalled that she had once announced she would donate a portion of her diamonds to the war effort. Always concerned with finances yet generous to friends and relatives, she might well have discreetly sold the biggest stones from that necklace in leaner times. She declared out of the blue that of the two rings she always wore, the larger — — composed of three stones big enough to cover two fingers — — was a fake, whereas the other, an elegantly mounted headlight, was the genuine article. That 17.55-carat diamond ring will be auctioned in L.A. Monday by Butterfields and could fetch up to $100,000. Also up for bid: the necklace . . . .• • Source: Entertainment column: "Up for Bid: All That Glittered on Mae West" written by Kevin Thomas for The L.A. Times; published on 22 September 2000• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2061st blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1934 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A talented blues singer was featured in MAE WEST's Broadway play "The Constant Sinner" at the Royale Theatre, which opened in mid-September 1931. • • Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Trixie Smith [1895 — 21 September 1943] was an African American blues singer, recording artist, vaudeville entertainer, and actress. She made four dozen recordings for these labels: Black Swan, Paramount, Decca. As her career as a blues singer waned, however, Trixie Smith sustained herself by performing in cabaret revues, and starring in musical revues — — such as "New York Revue" [1928] and "Next Door Neighbors" [1928] at the Lincoln Theatre in Harlem.• • Trixie Smith was cast as Liza in Mae West's Harlem drama on Broadway, a show that included many black performers such as handsome Lorenzo Tucker. Two years later, she was elevated to the stage of the Theatre Guild for its production of "Louisiana." All told, Trixie Smith was seen in four Broadway plays from 1931 — 1940.• • She appeared in four movies: "God's Step Children" [1938], "Swing!" [1938], "Drums o' Voodoo" [1934], and "The Black King" [1932], which also featured Lorenzo Tucker as Carmichael the attorney. The two 1938 films were directed by Oscar Micheaux. She appeared at John H. Hammond's "From Spirituals to Swing" concert in 1938, and recorded seven titles during 1938 — 1939. Most of her later recordings were with Sidney Bechet for Decca in 1938. In 1939 she cut "No Good Man" with a band including Red Allen and Barney Bigard.• • Trixie Smith died in New York in the month of September — — on 21 September 1943, after a brief illness. She was 48.• • On 21 September 1934• • • • "Belle of the Nineties" starring Mae West opened on 21 September 1934. • • In Her Own Words • •• • Mae West said this: "If I asked for a cup of coffee, someone would search for the double meaning."• • Quote, Unquote • •• • Here is an interesting evaluation by Paul Friswold, who saw a play that is supposed to be about Mae West.• • Missouri drama critic Paul Friswold wrote: Claudia Shear's paean to showbiz legend Mae West suffers from trying to be too many things at once. That's more than appropriate, considering West's own predilection for excess, but it's the character of West herself who gets short shrift in "Dirty Blonde," and that's unfortunate. Ms. West was always the star of her own life — — and of the lives of everyone who entered her orbit, regardless of whether they wanted to cede the spotlight — and having her bumped to the wings in her own play seems self-defeating. ... Charlie and Jo lie dormant for most of the first act but displace Mae West in the second, and her disappearance saps much of the production's sparkle. How can it not? ...• • Source: Review: "The Mae Ingredient: Something's missing in 'Dirty Blonde'" written by Paul Friswold for Riverfront Times [St. Louis, MO]; published on 22 September 2011• • By the Numbers • •• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2060th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • co-star Trixie Smith in 1931 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.